[Diedre]

I had a virus on my pc so I posted to the virus removal portion of this site. My pc was very slow and unresponsive at that time and it stayed that way after the virus was removed. I installed drivers from Intel to update the pc and hopefully improve performance but may now have conflicts because it takes unplugging the monitor about three times before it finally comes on. I then ran a diagnostic tool for MS Office 2007 which listed a smart failure test online. I downloaded a tool from Lenovo which confirmed the error.

I was unable to order replacement media for MS Office, the product key I pulled off the registry wasn't recognized by Microsoft. They asked for a seven digit license number I don't have. I didn't buy the pc new. I want to keep my programs and to do that I would need to image my drive but I am concerned about the condition of it since the virus. I am considering buying a hard drive by Seagate and their hard drives come with software that enables the option of cloning or imaging a disk to put on the new one. And my pc is partitioned which I don't want the new drive to be. Right now, I'm afraid to do anything until I know exactly what I'm doing.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

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Hello Diedre

Please provide information about your computer, this includes is it a notebook or desktop, is it a custom build or brand name such as Dell or HP, if it is provide the model name or series number (not serial) providing these details will enable us to better assist you.

[phillpower2]

Hello Diedre

Please provide information about your computer, this includes is it a notebook or desktop, is it a custom build or brand name such as Dell or HP, if it is provide the model name or series number (not serial) providing these details will enable us to better assist you.

[Diedre]

Hello Phillpower2,

I have a desktop Lenovo ThinkCentre A58e 0841-AEU.

[phillpower2]

http://www.tigerdire...p?EdpNo=5582724 Is this the same as your computer.

Go to Start then to Run/Search
Type in compmgmt.msc and click Enter
On the left side click on Disk Management
On the right side you will see your hard drive.
Now I need you to take a screenshot and attach it to your next reply.
Do the following to take a screenshot while the above is open and showing on your desktop.

To capture and post a screenshot;

Click on the ALT key + PRT SCR key..its on the top row..right hand side..now click on start...all programs...accessories...paint....left click in the white area ...press CTRL + V...click on file...click on save...save it to your desktop...name it something related to the screen your capturing... BE SURE TO SAVE IT AS A .JPG ...otherwise it may be to big to upload... then after typing in any response you have... click on browse...desktop...find the screenshot..select it and click on the upload button...then on the lower left...after it says upload successful...click on add reply like you normally would.

Screenshot instructions are provided to assist those that may read this topic but are not yet aware of the “how to”.

[Diedre]

Yes that is the same computer I have except for the amount of gb's.

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[phillpower2]

Thanks, no problems there

Your computer only has a 180W PSU (power supply unit) which is minimal, I suggest checking how it is performing by running Speedfan, see below;

Download Speedfan and install it. Once it's installed, run the program and post here the information it shows. The information I want you to post is the stuff that is circled in the example picture I have attached.
If you are running on a vista machine, please go to where you installed the program and run the program as administrator.


(this is a screenshot from a vista machine)

Next do a quick memory test http://windows.micro...n-your-computer depending on the results of the above tests we may need to run alternative programs for comparison purposes.

[Diedre]

I ran the memory test and upon restart, no memory issues were found.

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[phillpower2]

The Speedfan results are showing that your PSU has issues but before I explain them can you run HWMonitor for us so that we can try and establish how accurate that they are http://www.cpuid.com.../hwmonitor.html

[Diedre]

[phillpower2]

HWMonitor is also showing that your PSU is bad and so should be replaced, an explanation, the +3.3V rail that provides power to such things as the chipset + memory and pci slots etc is too low as is the +12V rail which provides power to all major hardware such as HDDs, optical drives and add on video cards when fitted, both of these being too low can cause lag but as the memory passed the test and the +12V rail is so low I suspect that is the cause of the lag, please see the attached table which shows the minimum and the maximum out that is required for a stable computer.

Any questions please ask;

[Diedre]

Hello Phillpower2,

Was my poorly performing PSU causing the smart error and not my hard drive or do I need a new PSU and a new hard drive? If 180w is minimal, what should I get to replace it and maximize performance?

[phillpower2]

Hello Diedre

The PSU not providing enough power to the HDD would affect the HDDs performance which includes the access speed, before purchasing a new PSU I always suggest that the present PSU is tested by a tech who has the correct equipment in order to confirm 100% that the PSU is bad, many stores will do this for free.

One other check that you can do is in the computers BIOS, when the computer is booting up keep tapping either the F1 or F2 key to get into the BIOS and then navigate through the BIOS until you find something like PC Health Monitor, highlight this and click Enter, it should show you the power output, fan speeds and system temps etc, if the readings are the same there when under the least amount of load then the PSU is almost certainly bad.

[Diedre]

Hello Phillpower2,

I have tried to look for that in the past but when I go into the Lenovo BIOS Setup utility, I see nothing that refers to either a PC Health Monitor or a HDD Diagnostic Program which is what I was trying to find before. Is there something else I can try? I have read replacing a PSU is easy to do. Not sure what to get for optimal performance.

[phillpower2]

I prefer to be cautious and not say that anything is difficult or easy, we all excel at different things.

A guide to help you http://www.dummies.c...wer-supply.html + we are here should you have any questions.

Above all else stay safe and remove all sources of power to the PC before you proceed, make a note of where each connection goes, measure the dimensions of the PSU then post them with your next reply and we can then recommend a suitable PSU for you (typically around 5.9"(W) x 3.4"(H) x 5.5"(L))

[Diedre]

Hi Phillpower2,

I was wanting to know how I determine the maximum amount of wattage to buy for my pc in addition to the physical size. I do want more than a 180w PSU and I will need it to fit in my pc.